Courts will support school boards' dress codes if based on needs rather than opinions. Courts have affirmed that minors have constitutional rights. Hair length, clothing style, and beards may be protected by students' right to freedom of expression. Codes must be carefully written and consistent with schools' legitimate goals. (PB)

The outcome of legal battles regarding student dress codes often depends on how the issue is characterized; words used in the code; the geographic area of the conflict; on the ideological trend of the Supreme Court and the political/social climate of the country; and judicial inactivism of the Court. Applies these variables to two Jefferson…

In 1969 the Supreme Court, in "Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District," established the right of students to freedom of expression in school unless the exercise of that right would materially and substantially interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline or collide with the rights of others in the school.…

Examines message T-Shirts as a medium for student expression and the ability of public schools to regulate those messages. Predicts that as violence and insolence increase in schools, courts will probably continue to defer to school authorities and let them handle their own problems. (77 footnotes). (MLF)

In "Castorina," the Sixth Circuit reversed a lower court ruling that had dismissed a suit by two high school students challenging their suspension for wearing T-shirts adorned with the Confederate flag. Reviews three Supreme Court decisions about the regulation of student expression. Concludes that a consensus for the regulation of…

Examines a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the Bethel, Washington, school district in disciplining a student for giving a sexually provocative speech. Cautions against a possible trend toward renewed school emphasis on dress codes and other issues of decorum. (IW)

Examines whether schools can or should restrict gang clothing and how to restrict gang clothing without infringing on students' constitutional rights. Concludes that a policy that stresses the importance of reducing distractions that inhibit learning is more likely to be found legal than a policy restricting gang communication via limitations on…

Addresses the authority of school officials to regulate student dress by examining school dress codes, first with respect to communicative dress--or dress that communicates speech--and then with respect to noncommunicative dress. Provides a summary of the law on dress codes and a basic set of rules to assist school officials in drafting…

Do school dress codes written with the specific purpose of limiting individual dress preferences, including dress associated with gangs, infringe on speech freedoms granted by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? Although the Supreme Court has extended its protection of political speech to nonverbal acts of communication, it has…

Reviews a recent decision in "Littlefield" by the 5th Circuit upholding a school uniform policy. Advises board member who wish to adopt a school uniform policy to solicit input from parents and students, research the experiences of other school districts with uniform policies, and articulate the interests they wish to promote through uniform…

Two essays present opposing viewpoints on school uniforms. One suggests that uniforms make safer schools and better students. The other states that teenagers will rebel, and the uniform debate is a diversion from more pressing problems in education. The article includes brief opinion statements from teachers and other professionals. (SM)

Focuses on judicial reception of schools' attempts to curb violence, particularly predatory violence and psychopathological violence. School responses have been to create violence-prevention policies based on punitive measures or punish offending behavior after it has occurred. Such reactions may result in finding that schools have abridged…

The individual rights of students as revealed in federal court decisions are surveyed and summarized. Following a brief outline of the overall judicial approach, using the Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent School District court case as an example, the document is arranged into two major parts. Part 1 examines compulsory attendance laws, dress and…